


White Whiskey, Honeytraps & the World's Worst Hiding Place

by DrByron



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Casual Pandora/Helios Xenophobia, M/M, Straight bait, Tsundere!August, Whining, bareback, power games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-30 19:53:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3949609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrByron/pseuds/DrByron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vasquez and August failed to secure both, the Gorty's project and the Handsome Jack AI, so they are forced to go into temporary hiding from their many potential malefactors. Picking August's bar as a retreat might not be the safest choice, but at least it offers the comfort of alcohol and the perfect place to whine about their exes, quasi-exes, and how they both might get killed soon.</p>
<p>[This takes place after the 2nd chapter of Tales from the Borderlands]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Purple Skag bar wasn't the best hideout for neither of them. August owned the establishment after all, and owners usually return to their property. This could be the first place Vallory would start looking for them. But she was probably, hopefully, still unaware of how badly she wanted them dead. Delivering the Gorty's project was the only way to make up for them trying to pull a private 10 million dollar deal without Vallory's knowledge. They fucked up the Gorty's project plan. It was gone. Taken by the other side.  
Hugo and August sat at the counter, staring at the rows of bottles and decorations as if they held the answer to their problem. Only one dim lamp hung from a beam, none of the usual lights were switched on. The place was closed 'due to unforseen circumstances'. And they were the only ones around. August didn't want any human colleteral damage for something that was his fault. Except for Vasquez. He had it coming anyway.  
  
“Why did Sasha betray me... We could have had something special.”, August sighed.  
“Why did Rhys betray me... _We_ could have had something special.”, Vasquez sighed even louder.  
August scrunched up his nose, insulted by the comparison, and feeling downright mocked. He shook his head, raised from his seat and paced behind the counter to bring distance between them.  
  
“Drink? This is my bar and all.”, he asked in the unfriendliest way possible.  
“Oh yeah, I could _really_ need one now. Make it double... whatever it is.” Vasquez motioned with his right hand, off-handedly drawing air circles with his index and middle finger. The gesture held an implied assumption that he was a customer and August his waiter, and August didn't like that arrogance one bit. He slammed the whiskey glas onto the countertop and Hugo flinched. He filled it up and shoved it closer, equally loud.  
“Yeah, uh... thanks.” Vasquez eyed his opposite with glaring suspicion and sniffed the drink.  
“It's clean. You _just_ saw me pour it in, man. Here, I'll drink from it too.”, August said.  
He poured some of Vasquez's into his own glass and gulped it down in one go. He filled up both again.  
“Don't be an asshole. This is good white whiskey.”, August said.  
“I see that it's _clear_. And... you are _positive_ that this isn't your rubbing alcohol or drain cleaner? Don't you have some... eau de vie or brandy?”, Hugo sighed, cupping his chin in his hand.  
“No.” August crossed his arms and leaned over the counter top.  
“ You should've said earlier that you had a specific idea of how you want to get shitfaced. You're in my bar, you're partly responsible for all of this crap, now be less of a bitch and just get wrecked with whatever I offer you, ok? It's good. This is a good white whiskey. Don't make me regret that I gave you the _good_ one.”  
“Okay, okay, I got it... good whiskey, huh? I didn't know it came in any other colors than brown or gold, but... Well, thank you for that gesture, August. I appreciate it. Even though I don't particularly-” August's impending snarl made him swallow the rest of the sentence, and he began to inhale the scent of the drink again, slightly more willing to actually try it.  
  
“Now that we're in the same boat, I thought you'd feel a little less entitled.”, August complained. “We're _both_ gonna be _dead_ soon -if we're lucky that is. But you still manage to make this about you and make your special demands.”  
“Technically, this is about me. I am as much in danger as you are, in case you forgot. So what is your point?” Hugo lowered his eyelids and swished the clear alcohol in his glass, in hopes of enhancing the flavor.  
“My point is that this was harder on me than it was on you!” August insisted. “Sasha was my _girlfriend_ , we had something real and deep... I really love her, you know? Even now, with everything she's done. I would take her back, even though I know I shouldn't... It's a little different from your little disappointment with a coworker.”  
“Oh but it is the same, August...” Hugo sighed with melodrama in his eyes.  
“Yeah well, he sure wasn't your boyfriend.”, August sneered, taking a big gulp of his drink, hanging half across the counter top.  
“He was... potential.” Hugo breathed enigmatically.  
“Potential. What? That sounds like you _wanted_ him to be your boyfriend.” August snorted. The motions of his eyes became more sluggish, and the choosing of his words less selective.  
“Oh, he was more than this. I saw potential in him, you know, potential for something fantastic. I wanted to be the one to help him seize that potential. I would've been so good to him, and oh, and he would have admired and loved me for it. And when I would reach the top of Hyperion, he could have been my respectful, trusted second in command, my right hand, my... ki-, uh... que-, uh... umh... well-”  
“What? Uh, what are you trying to say?” August squinted his eyes.  
“I was going for _king_ , but that sounded like he'd be above me? So I thought _queen_ , but that doesn't really match his... gender. I mean, sure, he is slender and pretty, but that would not have the effect-”  
“Umh, yeah, I-... I think you lost me there. What? What are you talking about kings and queens?” August slowly shook his head in disbelief and narrowed his eyes to slits.  
“These gendered monarchal expressions really are loaded, that's a bit of a problem-”, Hugo mused.  
“I am still absolutely lost, just... get to the point.”  
“You wouldn't understand. Rhys and Me, Me and Rhys... I love Rhys. And Rhys loves me. You should have seen us bicker, oh, we loved to motivate one another to be our best possible selves. We sure have something special!” Hugo's sentimental smile slowly slipped off his lips, and all that was left was nostalgia. “Or... had? There was a... grave misunderstanding.”  
“A... grave misunderstanding, huh?” August puckered his lips, just a little estranged by that speech, and took another gulp.

“You know, right now, uh... do you do this on purpose? I mean... do you know that you sound really _gay_ right now? Saying... 'love' and shit. That's... kinda gay.”  
“Your point being?” Hugo elegantly raised an eyebrow.  
“...So... you _are_ gay.” August blinked in confusion.  
“Jesus, is that still a subject here?” Hugo groaned, rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. “Do I really have to answer that? Come on, you're not that backwards down here, are you? Or is that just you? Besides that... it doesn't matter in this story, this goes _beyond_ the fiery hot desires of the flesh.”  
“I'm just checking, not judging. Sorry, I was just...” August confusedly fumbled for the bottle of alcohol, pouring more into his glass.  
“I like women.”, Hugo mumbled with frustration. “I like... looking at them. Touching them. I can appreciate a good pair of tits. Even though none of that is really your business, unless you wanna get into my pants, you know.”  
“I should have expected that. Everyone from Hyperion seems to be into... all kinds of sex. With everyone and everything.”, August commented disdainfully.  
“Hey! You're making this sound like I wasn't special.”, Hugo huffed.  
“Yeah... you're not.”, August said.  
Hugo was still eyeing his drink, with more and more focus.  
“So... what was the misunderstanding?”, August sighed, granting Hugo a confessional.  
“Well, in order to give him a lesson in humility, I demoted him to janitor and-”, Vasquez began.  
“Okay, yeah, no, stop right there.” August interrupted him. “Are you _actually_ surprised that he backstabbed you? I'm serious, did this come as a surprise to you? After that stunt?”  
Vasquez bit his lower lip and squinted at his glas with painful regret.  
“But you don't understand, I would have given him his promotion after a _week_! I didn't intend to permanently leave him there! I thought he'd fight his way through it and come out stronger and more eager to learn from me...”  
“Maybe you should've gifted him a book or something? Ass-kissing for dummies or something?” August snorted. “Kinda seems to get your 'well intentions' idea across a little better than that. Wow, your concept of relationships are fucked up. That's really not how you make friends.”  
  
“Well, look who's talking!” Vasquez protested. “How about your babe? I don't see _her_ by your side right now either!”  
“Sasha? She... well...” August hesitated, unsure if he should answer at all. But if Vasquez could get his confession, he deserved to get his worries off his chest as well.  
“...She used me to get the fake Vault Key into circulation and then dropped me after the deal blew... She used me. But... we loved each other! We all make mistakes, so this is completely-”  
“Are you sure she, uh... liked you? Sorry Aug, but that sounds pretty much like a honey trap to me.” Vasquez finally took his first careful sip of the white whiskey. Even though the liquid hardly touched his lips, his face scrunched up in distaste, his shoulders shot up, and he barely managed to not break into a coughing fit immediately. The fumes alone made him choke up.  
“Oh god, this doesn't taste like whiskey at all!”  
August ignored his critique entirely.  
“Shut up! A honeytrap? You mean she only flirted with me to get information? Or rather, to seal the deal? I mean, that's what that means!”  
Hugo nodded swiftly, too chocked up by the wafts of alcoholic scent to speak.  
“What the hell! _You_ don't even know what true love is! I bet you want to _kill_ your heartthrob now... don't you? Your pride is hurt, of course you want to kill him. Your giant ego is way too big for true love!” August raised his voice enough to make Hugo cringe.  
He took deep breaths, trying to recover from the awful alcoholic experience. He took some time to answer, but when it came, it was calm, quiet, and hoarse.  
  
“...I'd take him back too, you know. I really shouldn't, but I...”  
He wanted to take another sip of alcohol, but just couldn't make himself do it. He was nauseated by the sharp, pungent stink of it.  
“But this is beyond my control now... I tried to offer him a partnership, but I have since then received orders to hand him to my superiors. I'm under observation. Disobeying these orders would put my life at risk. Not that it matters _now_...”  
“Did he deny the partnership?”, August asked.  
“Ah, Rhys...” Hugo drew circles on the countertop, giving a dreamy sigh.  
“So he accepted?”, August insisted.  
“Oh, Rhys.....” Hugo rubbed a straight line, back and forth, and licked his lips. August felt positively ignored and a even more weirded out.  
“We could've ruled Hyperion together... Well, with me on top and you as my personal consultant. We could've ruled the place as it was intended to, as the spiritual sucessors to Handsome Jack...”  
“Okay, uh, isn't your age difference a little big to be lusting after that guy?”, August mocked.  
“What?” Hugo jumped out of his trance. “We're not even ten years apart! I'm not... I'm not _that_ old, you know! How old do you think I am?”  
“...Fourty-... eight?” August yawned.  
“Well excuse me, I'm thirty-five!”, Hugo exclaimed.  
“Oh. Looking... mature.” August snorted.  
“ _You're_ looking mature! How old are you, _in your thirties_?”  
“Yeah.”  
“...oh.” Vasquez raised his eyebrows and blinked.  
“Yeah, you actually guessed that right.”  
“Huh.”  
  
Hugo took another gulp from his glass, in an automated gesture, and only realized his mistake when it was too late. He did half a spray-spit and tried to swallow the rest, coughing miserably.  
“Hey, what's your problem?”, August barked. Hugo continued to cough.  
“Hey, I said: What's your problem! Can't handle your alcohol?”  
Rapping his fist against his chest, Vasquez only gradually regained his ability to speak.  
“This... god... this is _awful_!”  
“Well, some people just can't go beyond a prosseco, huh...”, August mocked.  
“No, I've... wow... this is really bad.”, he wheezed.  
“You said that already.”  
“Yeah, but, wow, I need to say it like a hundred times again. What is this, _pruno_?”  
“Prunes? What?”, August asked.  
“ _Pruno_ , you know, _prison wine_. Where they put shit into a plastic bag and let it rot to make alcohol.”  
“Shit?” August's face distorted in utter disgust.  
“No, not.... _not literal shit_.”, Hugo corrected. “Food scraps, fruits, candy, ketchup, bread, sugar, whatever they can find. And that rots. And people drink that. That is what this tastes like. _Pruno_.”  
“What? This is good moonshine!”, August protested.  
“Moonshine?! I thought you said white whiskey! Moonshine is just a free range pruno!” Vasquez coughed again, sticking out his tongue to get the lingering taste as far away from his mouth as possible.  
“Moonshine _is_ white whiskey! And no it's not, this is high quality stuff! Just because it's Pandorian and different from whatever artificial lab chemicals you make up there, doesn't mean it's inferior!”  
“Well, apparently, that's exactly what it means. Believe me, I know a good drink. This is not one.” Vasquez spit into his glas, trying to get the taste away.  
  
“Why you self-entitled, little-...”  
August jumped up to grab Hugo's collar and lunge out his fist. The suit flinched and raised his arms in defense. But when no hit followed, he carefully opened one eye again, still in the intimidated, cowering position.  
“You just have to adjust to it, Hugo. It's an aquired taste.” August explained with an understanding smile. Hugo let down his defenses.  
“Oh... yeah, that... that could be.”, he admitted.  
And then, August reached for the bottle, forced it between Vasquez's lips and _made_ him adjust. Vasquez gurgled in confusion, but swallowed a big gulp. And another. And another. The surprise attack rendered him so bewildered that his already bad self-defense was a complete tragedy. August held him in place and the bottle's body up high, to make sure it all went in. He was forcing his whole physical power into shoving that drink down Vasquez's arrogant throat.  
Only after half the bottle was gone, he was satisfied and gave him a breather. Or a cougher, in this case.  
“Okay... okay okay, I revoke that statement!” Hugo hiccuped. “It did not get better!” He held his forehead as if he was feverish, swaying form side to side. “This was... terrible! Wow, you're a lunatic! You have some anger management issues!” Hugo coughed miserably.  
“I-... well, uh- you had it coming?” August fell a little out of his groove, meekly putting the bottle down again.  
“I already agreed that I might get used to it! I was being compliant, you complete moron! What the hell! You don't shove things into people's mouths when they're already compliant!”, he hiccuped. “You wait until they shove it down _voluntarily_!”  
  
Hugo sluggishly calmed down and his distraught frown slowly shifted, inspired by his own ambiguous words, into a suggestive, drunk smirk. He dizzily rested his head on his crossed arms on the counter top.  
“This is getting to my head fast... must be because I didn't eat... and whatever crap is in that moonshine... god, I don't wanna know. Well, at least I'll be drunk when they come and get us...” He gave a weak chuckle.  
August narrowed his eyes. He took the bottle again, but lifted it to his own lips. He drank it like water.  
“Hahaha... _indirect kiss_.” Hugo giggled. August just rolled his eyes.  
“Well, I guess now _is_ the time for jokes, huh... we gotta do something to keep our spirits up...”, August mumbled defeatedly.  
“You sure are holding your _spirit_ up.”, Hugo snickered. “'Cause it's alcohol! That thing in your hands, it's alcohol!”  
August rolled his eyes with more emphasis, drinking more.  
“Man, coming to think of it... I mean, thinking of you holding that bottle and drinking from it... hands and mouths are... miracles.”, Hugo slurred.  
“I mean, wow, they are universal tools for so many good things!”  
August didn't reply, but just listened to the pissdrunk Hyperion employee who obviously could not handle his moonshine.  
“You can... grab things... and lick things... and... and eat. Right? And play the piano.”  
August wondered just where he was going with it.  
“You can... make another person feel really good with them...” Hugo bit his lower lip. He scratched the countertop and took a deep, shivering breath.  
“Yeah, uh, I guess those are... options.” August commented. He felt a little dazed as well, but not enough to talk utter nonsense like this.  
“You wanna hear another joke?”, Hugo slurred.  
August swallowed another gulp of moonshine and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah. Go for it.”  
“The only thing funnier than an indirect kiss via bottle is... a _direct kiss via mouths_.” Hugo gave him a wide-eyed stare with the last words, as if it was the punch line of the century.  
August just gave him a comfused frown and started to chuckle uncomfortably.  
“Umh... What? What is that supposed to mean? You're not really making sense, Hugo...”  
"Maybe it's not funny at all...” Hugo seemed devastated. “Yeah, uh, sorry... that was a really bad joke. I guess I lost my sense of humor there. Gone! Poof!”  
He held his head with both hands and tried to steady his breathing.  
“But... there's one thing that's for sure...”  
He gave August another wide-eyed, expecting stare.  
“It would be sure to keep our spirits up. You know... mouth to mouth. Tongue to tongue. Writhing bodies, in a heated embrace. It would keep our spirits up... among other things."Hugo mumbled with a deep, sensual voice that resonated in August's guts, and a gaze too sultry to not make him uncomfortable.  
“Umh...”, August didn't manage to counter anything to something this direct. He could only watch what happened next.  
  
Vasquez leaned over the counter, slowly approaching August. After a specific point of closeness was reached, it became clear that he wasn't leaning in to continue his rambling, or talk in general. Hugo lowered his eyelids and turned his head slightly to the side, drunk, clumsy, oddly sensual. August shied away.  
“Hey, hey hey, whoah, what... I'm... I'm straight, man.", he stammered aggressively.  
Hugo slowly straightened his back again.  
“Of course you are...” He groaned and slapped a palm to his forehead. His fingers slowly dragged down his face.  
“Why are all the pretty ones straight or taken!", he whined. "You've been talking about Sasha all night, of course you're not in for a _man_ now, let alone a _real man_... let alone me... which is a whole other level of man...”  
“What... what were you even trying? Hugo? How did you get that idea?!” August laughed uncomfortably, a hint of anger twitching in his smile. He didn't know whether Vasquez was just hopelessly horny or trying to make him uncomfortable on purpose.  
“We've both been betrayed by the people we love and are in the eye of the storm... we might not have a long time anymore. I would rather finish my life feeling loved. ”, Hugo whined, looking like he was about to cry.  
  
August rubbed his eyes and wet his lips, taking a deep breath. He took another sip from the bottle. He fiercely gazed holes into the air, focusing so intensely that it strained his eyes.  
“Okay, this will sound weird, but... But I may be drunk enough to be bi-curious. I don't know.” He shrugged one shoulder, but his eyes were fixed.  
"We don't _love_ each other, obviously.”, he groaned. “Jesus fucking Christ, Hugo. We're not even friends. But you're... ok. For a Hyperion suit. I don't know. I guess I understand your point."  
It took vast effort for August to meet Vasquez's eyes, but that was also due to them being drunk out of their minds and at that moment, bad at focusing on anything that wasn't air.  
"Well, we can at least be... friends. If you'd like that, August. I'd like to be friends very much.", Hugo breathed.  
  
They gazed at one another for a moment. And Vasquez slowly bent forward again. Slowly, steadily, he gave him time to adjust to the idea. Hugo monitored the reactions of the other minutely, his eyes, his lips, his body language. August's expression relaxed into a calm, expectant gaze. And Hugo grabbed his nape with one rapid motion. August instinctually slapped his hand into his face, pushing him away in panic.  
"Maybe I'm not drunk enough after all!", August exclaimed.  
Vasquez reluctantly respected the withdrawal and had to lean back yet again.  
"Don't... tease me like that..." He furrowed his brow in discomfort.  
“I mean, I'm not going to waltz over your decisions, that's all fine, your body your rules... But don't... tease me like that. It _hurts_. I'm... _embarassed_.”, Hugo mumbled.  
“S-sorry, I'm just... this is weird. I think I'm curious about bi-curiosity, but I really don't want to get involved _too much_! After Sasha happened, I'm a little more careful about this... and I still love her, so I can't do this!”  
“I'm not gonna break your heart, August, I'm not gonna try to manipulate you with this! I really just wanna get laid or... or at least... make out! Jesus, we could only cuddle for all I care, I just want something! Somebody!”  
“... _somebody_ , huh.” August raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.  
“ _You!_ Okay, I wanna cuddle, kiss, make sweet love... _with you_. Better?”  
“You just want to wet your dick with anything, don't you. You Hyperions don't care about love, trust, loyalty, honesty... well I _do_ care about these things. I care about them a lot.”, August muttered angrily.  
“Look, I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you. We're screwed. I want something nice to get my mind off it. And I think it would get your mind off it too. We're in this together. That creates a special bond, doesn't it? We are all we have right now.”  
  
“...I'll emasculate you if you try something funny. I'll kill you if you _do_ something funny.” August spat.  
“Emasculate me, wow, woah, aren't we using _big words_ tonight... “ Hugo chuckled and hiccuped.  
“I am not _stupid_ , Vasquez. Just because we live in the dust, doesn't mean our minds are dusty. If anything, with your sheltered lives with machines and maids to do everything for you, you probably forgot to do _anything_ by yourself. You're the stupid ones!” He growled.  
“Now hold on, is that... is that thing... is that actually a cliché down here? I could see cold, calculating, career-oriented, backstabbing, _dashingly handsome_... but is that what you people think of us? Wow, this is... a surprise.”, Hugo slurred pensively.  
“Yeah, for a _reason._ Man, to think I tried to manipulate you with an act, when you're so stupid that you would've swallowed all that stuff about the Vault Key anyway.”  
“Wow, hold hold hold on a minute... an act?”, Hugo was at a loss, and his mind genuinely slowed down by the drunk stupor.  
“As you probably noticed by now, I'm not a dumb, confused little scaredycat. I _pretended_ to be, because that's what makes you feel safe and less critical. I could take you out right here, right now, with my bare hands, and I could describe it poetically.”  
“But I know that, August. I know that.” Hugo shook his head and squinted his eyes. “Why would you... Ohhh, _the 'act'_ , yeah, you thought I believed that? Umh, riiight. I saw right through that. Sorry. Didn't actually make a difference. Wasted energy, August.”  
“...what.”  
“Yeah, you're not the best actor, not really consistent with your roles? Kinda wishy-washy? But I liked that one, so I didn't mention it. You acting all submissive and chaotic, that was cute. I could dig it. Ohhh I could.” Hugo gave a leer, leaning inappropriately close.  
“Of course you'd get a kick out of that, just as I predicted. You sicken me, with your superiority complex.” August's hands trembled. “God, I _hate_ you people _so much_.” He grabbed Vasquez's face, covering his features with his hand. He powerlessly directed it to and fro, too sluggish to get really violent, too uncoordinated to wonder what he was trying to achieve. The fury that was boiling inside of him did not know how to find an outlet.  
  
“Now, now, save your anger for violently making out with me...” Hugo said against the hand in his face.  
“You could release all that pent-up anger in a way we'd both enjoy... You could fuck me up good. You would get a kick out of it, I would get a kick out of it, everybody wins, and we can still be on friendly terms. You could kiss me till my lips are all puffy and sore, show me what you're made of.”  
“That would look ridiculous...” August mumbled, admittedly amused by the idea.  
Hugo only replied with a little knowing smirk, barely visible underneath August's hand.  
August saw it, focused on it. He focused on the feeling of Hugo's face underneath his palm, the skin, the warmth, the hot air coming from his mouth and nostrils. He took the hand away. And slammed his lips onto Vasquez's.  
“Ouch- mah teef-”, Vasquez mumbled. “Futt Up.”, August mumbled back, pulling him into a heated, sloppy kiss over the countertop of the bar. They used their tongues immediately, raw, angry and self-indulgent. They leaned so far that they both almost climbed atop the counter. Hugo let August be the one using his hands to direct their heads and hold him close, knowing that he might change his mind if he stole his dominant position.  
After August had enough time to get a good picture of how it feels, he slowly let go again, letting his hand rest on Vasquez's nape.  
  
“Man... your face... that beard feels so weird... now I get why Sasha was a little iffy about my facial hair...”, August murmured against his lips, not really repulsed, just pensively.  
“Hey, my beard is pretty soft, unlike your scratchy stubble...”, Hugo mumbled and licked his lips to find the lingering taste of August underneath all that alcohol.  
“It's really hard to imagine you were a woman with that stuff all over your face...“, August added absent-mindedly, eye-gazing with Vasquez.  
“You're not _supposed_ to imagine I was a woman!”, Hugo protested.  
“I'm obviously a man! Just look at me, you don't get any manlier than this! I thought you _were_ bi-curious, what happened to that? So relish my masculinity.” He retreated from August, crossing his arms.  
“Maybe I should've started with something... easier. Maybe somebody slender and smooth, like... this Rhys guy... though he's a bit tall...”, August mused, his eyes wandering aimlessly across the floor.  
“Well there's nobody but me around now, is there?”, Vasquez frowned.  
“I suppose.”  
“ _Embrace_ the hypermasculinity. This is good stuff. I have a powerful built, a deep voice, a hairy body and a fantastic beard; I have a _huge cock_ in my pants. I'm a man man, _all the way_ , and you will understand the pleasure in that...”  
August straightened himself and scrunched up his nose. He crossed his arms defensively.  
“That's, uh... that's great for you. The... thing in your pants. Just keep it there, alright?”, he snarled.  
“Sorry, that sounded... sounded more like a threat than intended.” Hugo apologized immediately. “Got a little carried away there. This swill is doing things to me. Sorry, August, sorry, please forgive me. I'll behave. That was just an unfortunate choice of words...”  
August sighed and unfolded his arms again. He shook his head, knowing that he was the one who made Vasquez drink so much moonshine, and therefore, not entirely innocent.  
“Yeah, no, it's... it's fine, I guess. You didn't mean it. Right? You'd be really stupid to threaten me like that.”  
“Yeah, I know! Why would I do that, especially now? This is your bar, we're in hiding, we need to co-operate now more than ever!” Hugo assured.

His gaze then changed. He slowly lowered his eyelids, giving him a look that was piercing but calm, and wiggled his eyebrows. “Talking of cooperation... how about the kiss? Did you... like that?”  
August finally went around the bar, to join Hugo by the stools. He sat down next to him, leaning one arm onto the counter top. He shook his head with a smirk on his lips.  
“A little... weird. But not _bad_. I think it's stranger that it's _you_ than the fact that you're a man, to be quite honest. Not sure I want more than that from a guy though. This might be my limit.”  
“That's good enough for me.” Hugo licked his lips.  
August threw him a hesitatingly suggestive glance. He was too stubborn to flirt more than this, he refused to openly show that he was up for it and even a little excited about them spending their time on something other than fighting or whining.  
“We still have time to kill, right? I mean... time to kill time.”, August smirked.  
  
Vasquez grinned and slammed his hand on the wooden post next to August's head, and August closed in for another, tongue-heavy kiss. Hesitantly, he let his arms slide around Hugo's sturdy built. His hands hovered, barely brushing over the fabric of the suit. It felt awfully expensive. August forced Hugo's greedy tongue out of his mouth and invaded his instead, growling into the kiss. He grabbed the fabric of the suit jacket and pressed him closer. When Hugo leaned closer and closer, August felt himself sliding down the post. He felt Hugo bent over him, and how he had to cling to his body to not fall over. He was at his whim. This was a trust exercise, or a display of power. Either way, August didn't like the feeling, and anger began to boil in his stomach. He violently pushed him off of him, using both hands, and caught himself.  
  
“Not like that, asshole!”, he snarled.  
Hugo, too dazzled by the canoodling, stumbled backwards, grabbing for a stool to not fall over.  
“W-what? Like what?”, he stuttered in confusion.  
August grabbed his lapel and jostled him against the countertop. Hugo, a little frightened by August's hateful stare, climbed onto it. When August followed, putting a knee on the counter, Hugo retreated more -and clumsily fell over.  
“Now you're scared, huh?” August grinned victoriously. “I told you you need submissive people to make you feel superior! You Hyperion suits are so easily startled when push comes to shove! Your self-confidence is so _fragile_.” He climbed over the counter to pounce the man lying behind the bar. Hugo gave a surprised yelp at suddenly having August land on his lap.  
“You-” He stammered, staring up at him. “Wow, this is so hot!” Hugo exclaimed delightedly.  
“What? Don't you feel threatened?” August growled.  
“I do! You're a beast! And it turns me on _so much_...” Hugo purred.  
August dived into an angry, confused kiss to shut him up.  
With Vasquez's admiring hands all over his waist and his back, August felt in control. He could then understand why some people would use their sexuality to exert power over others. The rush was so exhilirating that sitting on Vasquez's poking hard-on was reframed as a victory. Hugo was completely taken aback, too caught up in his pleasure to notice that August was playing him. Sure enough, August strangely enjoyed making out with him. But for completely different reasons. He liked getting back at him for being such an arrogant self-absorbed asshole and put him into his place again. He kissed and bit and licked his lips until they were sore. Vasquez clung to August with his arms around his waist, and gave heated, muffled groans.  
  
And then, in the heat of the moment, Hugo reached for August's crotch, and grabbed him through his pants.  
August stopped on the spot and sprang up.  
“Keep your hands off my junk!” He punched the air out of Hugo's chest. He wheezed miserably, almost choking.  
“F-fair enough...” He breathed in and out.  
“I am _not_ gonna fondle your balls, you got that? Don't even try to make me!”, August emphasized.  
“Got it!”, Hugo wheezed.  
As he managed to respire again, they continued to kiss as if nothing had happened, but slower, sluggishly and slightly more careful. More fatigued, as well. The late hour and the alcohol were taking their toll.  
“The floor is... kind of hard.”, Hugo mumbled awkwardly. “D-do you have a bed or a couch where we can sleep? I'm slowly getting... real drunk tired from this...”  
August took a moment to take a break. He was more out of breath than he had anticipated.  
“Yeah... in the back... You can... crash on the couch.”, he informed him wheezingly.  
“Wanna join me and go to sleep with me?”, Hugo whispered.  
“ _As I said..._ ” August grunted. “I am not gonna sleep with you...” He had a hard time suppressing the urge to punch Hugo yet again. This man just knew how to push his buttons. “Sorry, but no thanks, please don't ask me again, _this is getting super uncomfortable_!”, he hissed, with his whole focus on _not_ yelling at him.  
“No, I mean, actually sleeping. Just... in the same bed.” Hugo mumbled meekly. “We could be attacked any minute, I'd like to die with somebody else lying besides me. Preferably in underwear, because... I appreciate the body warmth.”  
“Oh.” August furrowed his brow. “That's... an odd and slightly creepy request.”  
“I'm a romantic. Now don't leave me hanging, August. My friend.” Hugo gave a dorky, awry smile.  
“Okay... yes...? I... I suppose I could do that. But... if we survive the night, you owe me. And don't try anything funny. No inaproppriate touching.”  
“Nothing funny, nothing inappropriate. Breakfast inclusive. If you show me where to buy some, I'll buy you anything you want with, uh, the money I still have on me. You're my favorite guide to Pandora, after all. You deserve this.”, Hugo gave an even broader, almost innocent smile and batted his eyelashes. August groaned.  
“Fine! I still don't trust you though.”  
“Whom _can_ you trust nowadays? I certainly don't trust _you_ either. But what makes this work, is that we just don't have _any other choice_ right now... we only have each other, and we depend on co-operation. So let's call it a truce. How about it, my friend?” Vasquez offered him a hand, waiting to shake on it.  
“Yeah, ugh, _sure_. If you can't fall asleep on your own, I guess I'll be your babysitter.” August frowned but shook his hand in agreement.  
“Good.” Hugo gave him a sweet smirk and a suggestive wink.  
August sighed, shook his head and covered his eyes with his palm.  
“...ugh, I swear to god, Hugo... I swear to god-...!” He started, but never finished his threat.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, August regretted his decision more than once. But he was a regretter. And if he was truly honest with himself the positive experiences outweighed the negative ones. But memory isn't a logical machine.  
Either way, being used as Vasquez's stuffed animal was not what he _had in mind_ when he agreed to sleeping in the same bed. He was hugged, fondled and cuddled with, as if the other man had no shame acting so casual with someone he didn't know. Enough. He felt sorry for Vasquez and for how pathetically lonely he must have been, if he would pick up a random accomplice as his bedmate. Especially if that accomplice was someone from Pandora, as his arrogant high-class ass surely thought himself better than anyone living on this planet.  
Lying skin to skin (August had actually agreed to sleeping in their underwear) was not easily discarded as a non-sexual situation. At least not anymore, after the possibility that something _might_ happen has been adressed as a potential reality. The sexual tension was infuriating to him. After lying wide-awake for what felt like an hour, he could focus on nothing but Vasquez's nude, sturdy body flush against his, and all that body hair scratching against his own. At least he wasn't waxed. He smelled like shampoo and shower gel and deodorant and aftershave and cologne and everything but the musk of an actual person. This charade was so entirely superfluous, so ridiculous, and so typical for somebody from Helios, especially a Hyperion employee. He wanted to know where the hell he hid his own scent, and just _how_ it smelled. He felt an urge to make him sweat enough to break through that waft of fake sweet, woody, herby scent. He carefully moved an arm between them and gradually fumbled lower. His fingertips slid down a thick treasure trail, there was no way he'd miss it. He finally closed his fingers around the shape in Vasquez's briefs. It definitely felt like a penis.  
  
“I thought no inappropriate touching...” Hugo mumbled with a smirk on his lips.  
August's grasp grew firmer, if only due to the surprise that Vasquez was still awake.  
“I'm touching _you_. That's different. I was... I was just... testing the waters. On my own terms.”  
Hugo bit his lower lip, visibly enjoying August's hesitant curiosity.  
“So, how does it feel?”  
“Like... a cock, really. I don't know what I expected.”  
Hugo lifted August's chin to place a slow, sensual kiss on his cheek, but August pulled away.  
“No, uh, no kissing right now. This is... I need to focus.” August mumbled.  
“I think... You can _touch my body_ though.” he added pensively. “If you want. Yeah, _now_ would be good. Now or never.” August's breathing became a little more labored, the guilty excitement audible in his words.  
Hugo smirked and went for August's bulge without a second of hesitation. He grabbed his goods, gave them a squeeze, and began a firm, sensual massage. August gasped at the sensation and felt prickling heat rise to his cheeks like at the push of a button.  
“That's the exact size I imagined...”, Hugo whispered against his cheek.  
“What is that supposed to mean?” August wheezed, stubbornly beginning to rub Hugo's crotch.  
“That's a compliment. Just enjoy it, August... just... enjoy it.”  
August spread his legs slightly, his body aching to give more room to his swelling member. But as Hugo slid a hand into his shorts, touching his sensitive erection with his bare hands, August immediately tensed up.  
  
“Wait, what? Already? Okay, no! No wait a second!”, August resisted. “No, I changed my mind, let's keep this _above_ the waistline!”  
He pushed him away, on edge and ready to fight. Hugo obliged and gave a deep sigh.  
“The joke is getting old, August... You're hot and you're cold! It was embarassing the first time, I admit, but I'm slowly getting used to your rejections.”  
“No, that's not it.” August murmured with his nose scrunched up. “I'm serious. I wasn't sure about this. I thought that I might enjoy this now, for a second, it felt right. But then it just felt very, very wrong. I got a real bad feeling about this.” He was blinking too much and crossed his arms.  
Hugo took another sigh, melodramatically loud, and crossed his arms as well.  
_“I do not want to jerk you off.”_ August said. “If _you_ only touched me, that would be okay. If _I_ only touched you, that would be okay, too. Though I'm not gonna do that, I mean, not for _you_... But... something mutual? Like an actual intimate interaction? Oh no, no, no, forget it, I do not trust you enough for this. And if I let you touch mine, I'd have to touch yours too, and then we'd have all that shit going down.”  
Hugo slowly unfolded his arms again. He brushed his knuckles over August's jaw in an understanding gesture.  
“You are a chaotic scaredycat in some regards, after all, little Pandoran.”, he whispered.  
“I'm not, this is me figuring out what I want, ok?”, August groaned.  
“Okay, there is nothing wrong with that. We can take the time you need. No problem. Just keep in mind that we might die any minute...” Hugo made a point to look as innocent as possible.  
“But is your only concern that you're obligated to touch me a certain way when I touch you that certain way? Is that the only thing?”, he added.  
August didn't continue to speak right away, but as he did, his voice was deeper and more introspective.  
"Well... yeah. That's at least one major element of it. I don't trust you enough for something _mutual_."  
“You know that you don't have to, right? You're not owing me anything...”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I am perfectly happy with just touching you, if that's all you're comfortable with. If you'd rather stay away from my manhood, I'm not forcing you! It is pretty _intimidating_...” Hugo gave a self-indulgent smirk.  
“Oh, may I jerk myself off though?”, he added off-handedly.  
“What? You want to... wait, you want to jack off while you jack me off? Why would you do that?!” August furrowed his brow in disbelief.  
“Because it's hot? Wow, why do you do anything sexual, August... of course because it's hot. There is no other reason that ever _truly_ matters.”  
August considered that statement and couldn't see any downsides to it. He vehemently disagreed with Hugo in regards to what you engage in sexual acts for, but his offer didn't seem bad. He could ignore Vasquez masturbating if he got a good hand- or perhaps even blowjob out of it. This wasn't them making love or anything.  
"Okay... yeah, deal. If you're so keen on touching me, I can... get behind that." He turned on his back and crossed his arms behind his head. "Just keep in mind: Do not go anywhere weird, yeah? No butt stuff. But you can use your mouth if you wanna get that taste of moonshine away." August couldn't suppress a little suggestive smirk.  
Vasquez grinned and crawled between his legs and bent over him. He placed a kiss on August's chest and let his lips follow a dark blond trail of stubbly hair towards his firm, chiseled middle. He gave an appreciative hum, then pulled down his boxer shorts enough to pull out his dick. August slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and anticipated the following sensations with a certain sadistic excitement.  
  
"Hey, uh, you clean?", Hugo asked. "Got anything I should know about? Looks mighty fine, but it's kinda dark in here, so..."  
"You mean: Do I have any diseases?!", August slowly formed fists, and Hugo could see his stomach tense up.  
"Oh, no, I'm not judging!”, Hugo quickly assured. “I've been there. Happens to the best of us." He chuckled and wrapped his fingers around the shaft, giving it a good firm squeeze. August gasped.  
"What are you even saying? No, it doesn't happen to the _best of us_!”, he barked. “That _only_ happens to sluts who fuck around. Of course I _never_ had any STDs!"  
Vasquez raised his eyebrows, shook his head and sighed, his lips already carelessly brushing over the tip of August's erection.  
"Yeah, umh... If you say so..."  
"Are _you_ even clean?" August shivered, his body all too willing, but his mind on edge. "What are you carrying around?!" He grabbed his hair and pulled him off of him, and Hugo gave a pained yelp.  
"I am clean! Just had a checkup the other week! 100 percent sure. I'm a _responsible_ swinger!", he assured. Hugo gave little squeaks of pain, and desperately fumbled to get August's hand off his hair.  
  
"A swinger? As in...? Wow... You Hyperion assholes _are_ all the same! You're... disgusting, you know that? I should have known. This means nothing for you, huh?" August frowned and let him go. Hugo rubbed his scalp.  
"Are we gonna be like this now? Really? I don't want to start a discussion about lifestyles now, I just... please, August, let's discuss it another time. I'm _sorry_ if this upsets you. Well, not really, I regret nothing of what I am, but... I just want to have a good time, okay? What does a blowjob mean to you that you get so fucking upset?"  
"You're making it really hard for me to trust you, you know that?", August growled.  
"Well you have some serious trust issues, that's why! Who's the one changing their mind all the time, huh? At least I'm consistent. You know what you're at with me. I want you, but on your terms, and seek nothing to gain from it right now but pleasure for the both of us. No second thoughts, August. I am _that_ single-minded right now. I am still tipsy, for god's sake." Hugo rubbed his eyes and felt a slight headache coming on, the moonshine still very prominent in his bloodstream.  
"See, and that is another problem, you being so casual about pleasure.", August sat up, arms crossed and ready to stand up and leave. But Vasquez grabbed his hips, leaning his chest onto the towering erection, and looked up at him with pleading, hungry eyes.  
"Pleasure is no sin, August. It's one of the few things that make life bearable. Do you really prefer to be painfully ascetic, just so you can delude yourself into the belief that you're _more valuable_? This is nonsense, August..." Hugo's voice became more urgent, his eyes more piercing. "That's like buying a vibrator and only ever looking at it stand on the night shelf, still in its original unopened packaging. It's just wrong. It's irresponsible. You have the right to feel pleasure, August. As _often_ as possible."  
August sneered. “But doesn't that make it less special?”  
Vasquez grabbed August's cock, and started firmly sliding his fist up and down along the swollen shaft.  
"Joy only multiplies, the more you share of it... You have no limited amount in you, my friend. So tell me what feels good and what doesn't. Communication is important."  
August gave a reluctant, suppressed moan, but put his hands on Hugo's back of the head. His fingers raked into his thick mane, and he made no motion to stop him.  
“Well-” August chuckled a little. “That feels good, obviously...”  
Hugo gave a broad, dirty smile. "Wonderful..."  
  
Hugo bent down to give his tip a good lick. It was slightly wet, leaking pre-cum. Even though he could have denied it later, August's hands were clearly trying to usher Vasquez to come closer.  
“I see how it is...” Vasquez purred.  
Without hesitation, he wrapped his lips around the head of his erection, and slid his whole length in. That man did not seem to have a gag reflex. Hugo hummed as he was pleased with the filling sensation (even if only in his mouth), and the vibrations gave an extra stimulation. Sensually massaging August's thighs and testes, Hugo didn't hesitate to use all tricks immediately. Maybe a drunken loss regarding timing was partly to blame for that. August shivered and trembled with overstimulation.  
"Ahh, shit, you're eager-", he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to adjust.  
With Hugo groaning with the cock down his throat, August could feel his voice as much as he heard it. He wondered just why he made so much noise, he wasn't the one getting a blowjob after all, but it felt fantastic. The hot moisture around his erection and thick hair of Vasquez's beard against his balls stimulated him on many levels, and the lazy up and down motion, the sloppy suction, made him want to move too. August thrusted upwards once, then twice, and began moving against the rhythm. Trying to control the rhythm. He could feel how Vasquez was jerking himself off to it. He thrusted up a little harder, testing how much he could facefuck the other without making him choke. Moonshine or not, the tolerance limit seemed to be naturally set to very high. August tensed his muscles, bit his lower lip. He groaned quietly, pushing himself into Vasquez's tight mouth over and over again.  
  
But with one thrust, he crossed a line, and Hugo retreated, gasping for air.  
"H-hey, August... hey, just a little sidenote? Do you wanna, you know, fuck my ass by any means? Your hips kinda wanna do the thrusting... thing...”  
He slid up a little higher, to be able to give a smug smirk right into his face.  
“And I know a better place for your little friend to do so. Or is that just my impression? Please, do correct me if I'm wrong..."  
August felt caught. Even though he hadn't considered going that far, not up until that moment, with his throbbing hard-on demanding all humanly possible attention and Hugo's provocative, seductive gaze, he couldn't deny that the option was shooting sparks of approval through his groin. The thought of making Vasquez's smug face derail and really showing him was making him swallow hard.  
"Okay, Hugo, I'll tell you what...” August began, taking a deep breath, shaking his head, licking his lips.  
“...I will give it to you, right now, right in the ass, if you don't fucking assume that I'll ever return it. Yeah... then I'll do it.”  
“Return it? I think we'd both already win in that scenario, there won't be anything to return.” Hugo squinted his eyes and chuckled.  
“No, that's not what I meant! _I_ fuck _you,_ understand _?_ And that's it, end of story! No rematch. You're not gonna put anything up _my_ ass, that's what I mean." He was so sure that Vasquez would refuse that he burst into a self-indulgent smirk. He knew that this would surely offend and intimidate him, and the anticipation of his face was reward enough.  
“How does that sound?”, August challenged.  
"Ohhh, that sounds _really_ good to me..." Vasquez purred, biting his lower lip, wiggling his eyebrows.  
He crawled atop of August, straddling him with a broad lecherous smile on his lips. August stared at him in an expression of undilluted confusion.  
“Wait, huh? Wait, for real now? You'd do that?”, he asked in disbelief.  
"Yes, August _, for real now_.”  
Hugo placed another kiss on his cheek, soft and sensual, and August was just getting more and more confused.  
“Okay, uh... huh. Okay. I guess if we might die soon, we can get this over with first, huh?”, August said.  
Hugo broke into a broad grin.  
“You've felt that sexual tension between us too, huh?”, he mumbled against his skin.  
“Wipe that grin of your face, you're... stupid.” August averted his eyes and gave a suppressed amused snort.  
  
“Listen, August, I'll make this easy for you. We'll just shove my briefs aside a little, see? Like this. And you can go in there... so you don't need to watch my intimidating manhood bounce up and down."  
August grabbed Hugo's hips and gave him a look over, getting a feeling for the image, for the position, for his own inner voice. He tried to pull him down. His hips pushed up, but Vasquez averted the movement by adjusting his position quickly, and Augusts erection just grinded along his ass.  
"Woah, hey! Easy does it! Have you gone insane?!” Hugo yelled at him.  
“Let me prepare myself first, alright? And how about some lube and condoms?! Jesus, your heterosexual orientation isn't even an excuse for this, this is just bad manners!"  
He gave an exhausted sigh, licked his index and middle finger of his right hand, and reached behind himself. August blinked in confusion.  
"Oh... oh yeah, right... I got a little ahead of myself there.", he admitted uncomfortably, becoming painfully aware that he was being less trustworthy than Vasquez. The stark contrast, a contrast with a Hyperion employee of all people, made him feel a stab of guilt that he was being so hard on Hugo, who seemed to try his very best to make it work for them.  
"Yeah, sure, I just hope this attitude didn't _hurt_ anyone in the past..." Hugo bit his lower lip, eyeing August seductively, and giving small sighs at his own hand's doing.  
“This your first time anal or why are you so dense?", he asked.  
"Now that you mention it... yeah. Didn't really, uh, come up.", August mumbled pensively.  
“Okay, I got this, baby, I'll ride you good. Just, uhh... just get us some condoms and lube? You _should_ have some around, you just recently br- uh-...” Only after he was halfway through the sentence, Hugo realized that mentioning Sasha now might not be the smartest idea.  
“... broke up-... uh... you know. Your last relationship wasn't... that... long ago.”, he stumbled on.  
August didn't look too thrilled by him bringing it up now, and gave an annoyed huff. He nevertheless leaned over to the side of the bed, stretching his hands towards the night stand, and procured a bottle and a little square package from a drawer.  
“Yeah... shut up, Vasquez.”, he mumbled, squinting at the package.  
“Well... these expired.”, he added.  
“Well, then take another one!”, Vasquez groaned, fingerfucking himself a little more eagerly.  
“I got them all in one go, they're all expired.”  
“Who is sexually active and does not have good condoms around? How did you even manage to let them expire? Did you two never have sex or what?” With increasing arousal, Vasquez became increasingly impatient and increasingly rude.  
“I had stacked a few before Sasha, don't make it weird! We don't have any good condoms right now, ok?!” August barked back.  
“How can we not have any good condoms around? Are you fucking kidding me right now?!” Hugo growled, his own fingers eagerly thrusting into himself. It was too late to stop now, not without making this the most frustrating experience since they lost the Gorty's project.  
  
“Okay, fuck this, are you still in?”, Vasquez continued. “I'm gonna ride you like that too. You say you're a healthy guy, I'm believing you. I trust you, August, okay? If you're not grossed out by this, I'm gonna ride you bareback. It's gonna get a little weird, but it's gonna be good. Okay?”  
Vasquez adjusted his behind on August's upright cock with the help of his hand, briefs shoved aside, almost ready to go.  
“Just lube me up, and I'll go. You hear me? Are you in, August? Are you up for it?” Hugo was starting to sound desperate.  
“Okay, I'll lube you up and we'll do it like this.”, August wheezed, having a hard time controlling himself to not push in immediately. His tip was prodding his tight pucker.  
“Hey there buddy, I said _lube me up_.”, Hugo warned him.  
After a swift grasp for the plastic bottle of lubricant, a few gestures and fingering at Vasquez's behind, August adjusted himself again. But before he could continue, there was something he just could not ignore.  
"Huh, okay, I was starting to think: Is there anywhere this guy is not hairy? Don't get me wrong, I can get behind that, I was already afraid you'd be waxed everywhere. But then... what's with your butthole, it's... pristine." He prodded a little against it.  
"Yeah, uh... I _am_ waxing that.", Hugo admitted.  
"What? Just _why_?"  
"So people will say it's _pristine_?", he purred.  
August smirked and shook his head.  
"Well, it feels very soft and inviting, I will give you that..."  
He pushed his cock against the sphincter.  
“Ow, August!” Hugo complained, raising his hips away from him. “What was that?! Are you kidding me? Did you just try to go in dry?”  
“Umh, well. The lube...” August murmured.  
“The lube what?”, Hugo barked.  
“The lube is empty too...”, August mumbled, hoping Hugo wouldn't hear it.  
“You've got to be kidding me!”  
“Yeah, well, that happened to Sasha and me before, but that wasn't a problem! I just went down on her, you know?”  
“Mhh... well, I do love a good rimjob...”, Hugo mused.  
“A rimjob?” August narrowed his eyes.  
“You know, shoving your tongue into my back door-”  
“Oh no no no, I am not going to put my mouth _anywhere_ near your ass!” August protested. “There is a word for that? People do that often enough to have a word for it?”  
“There is a word for everything August. And rimjobs aren't the weirdest things out there... ah well, a pity. Can't make the horse drink.” He gave him a sympathetic smile, bent down, and gave him a peck on the lips. August stubbornly turned his face away.  
"You had my dick in your mouth...", he mumbled.  
Hugo sighed.  
“Count yourself lucky that you're with an expert... I can go without lube, but that's a skill, my friend, a skill...”  
  
Vasquez stretched himself a bit more, his fingers scissoring inside his ass. Using spit to make it at least a little more slippery, he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. After a minute or so, he slowly lowered himself onto the swollen cock, and every single hard inch was a challenge both faced with strained moans. August held onto his hips and clenched his teeth like he was the one experiencing pain.  
As he felt August's erection all the way inside of him, Hugo gently swayed back and forth and began to ride it, slowly and sensually. Judging by his long sigh and broad smile, he loved the sensation. Judging by August's tense groan, he was still adjusting.  
"Fuck... you're crushing me. This is-... this is too tight!”, August growled, clinging to Hugo's hips.  
“And you're... kinda heavy...", he wheezed, having a really hard time focusing on feeling good. His body was overwhelmed with pleasure, but his mind was just all over the place.  
"And just because I can't see your dick, doesn't mean I can't see the rest of you..." He scanned the man on top of him again, from his thick hairy thighs, to his keg of a midriff over the black curls of chest hair up to his broad-chinned bearded face. Feeling the hot, tight muscles of his partner in crime twitch around his erection was making it hard for August to think clearly, and it was making all of this even stranger. He was alienated by liking it so much while looking at this _bear_ riding him.  
“What if I lift my hips a little and you just thrust into me?” Hugo wheezed, lifting himself and propping his hands up against the bed.  
“Yeah, uh, no I don't think that'll be enough...” August trembled and bit his lower lip. “Shit, this is too weird for me... Get off me and... and turn around, Hugo.”  
Vasquez rolled his eyes, but obliged. With him lying flat on his stomach, August slowly squeezed himself in from behind again.  
  
“Ahhh, fuck... you are nicely tight, gotta give you that...”, he groaned, placing a reluctant, sneaky kiss on his nape.  
Forcing his cock into the hot tightness of Vasquez's ass was excilerating and aroused him on more than just a physical level, but August couldn't ignore the questionable nature of the person he was shoving it into. With every firm thrust of August's hips, Vasquez gave a pleased sigh or moan, clinging to a pillow he had placed under his head. He was biting into it, grinning into it, squeaking into it. He made himself heard. He made himself seen. He had pushed August into a more upwards position by raising his hips more and more towards him, eager to feel him deeper inside.  
“Ohh, August... god, yes, come on! Go a little harder...”, he groaned with a deep, raspy voice.  
It was so alienating to hear him, while trying to ignore that it was him. August was not on good terms with his own desires right then.  
“Hugo! Damn it, what's with the porn talk?”  
“I was just giving you information on what I want, August, nothing more... communication is key.” Hugo thrusted backwards to meet August's hips mid-movement.  
“Yeah... you said that already.” August gave another frustrated thrust, and his motions became fiercer, more violent by the second. He was feeling his member throb with increasing arousal, a painful congestion of blood, but no signs of any future release. He could feel that he wouldn't be able to make himself vulnerable enough to actually end this. He felt the blood in his groin build more and more pressure, and it made him angrier and angrier.  
  
“Shit! Fucking hell! This isn't.... this quite it either!” He tried to blame the position.  
“ Your hairy back is right in front of me! That still doesn't work. I can't possibly imagine anyone else with that in my face.” He tried to blame Vasquez.  
They turned onto the side, and tried to to it in a spooning position, but that held the same results.  
“This doesn't work!”, August groaned.  
He tried to do him doggy-style, but that held the same results as well.  
They seperated again, swift and frustrated, and Hugo turned around underneath him. He gave a long pitying sigh, but judging by his body language, his blushed skin and his jittery eyes, he was having a great time. August hated him for that. Hugo put his fingers on August's cheeks and held his face in his own hands.  
“Shhh, hey, it's ok.”, he whispered.  
“Don't fucking patronize me.”, August barked.  
“Wow, you are _nervous_. August, you are _really_ nervous about this. Could that be?“  
He pulled his face down to his level and spoke lips to lips.  
“If you don't want to delve into the crazier positions, the only option we have left is... missionary.”, Hugo whispered.  
“What? Very funny, that's for women! How would that even...”, August protested.  
“You don't always need to play dumb... sometimes you just _are_ dumb.”  
“What, but I'm right? How should I reach your... you know... it's on the _other side_.”  
Vasquez took a pillow, placed it underneath his hips, and angled his legs to wrap them around August's waist.  
“Does it still seem oh so impossible now? Come on, all you have to do is push in. You can't be _that_ dumb.”  
As soon as he had pronounced it, August angrily pushed inside. Vasquez gave a smoky groan.  
“Ahh, yes! Right in the bullseye!”, he hissed.  
August immediately assumed a steady, hard rhythm that was accompanied by the noises Vasquez made, as he himself only gave quiet gasps and grunts. His hips moved by themselves, but they seemed to be in synch with the other, more than himself. Vasquez, as opposed to him, was noisy and expressive. So much so that it was almost strange to look at. He couldn't take his eyes of the faces he was making, biting his lip, baring his teeth, grinning, slack-jawed, frowning, puckering his lips- his face was a rollercoaster ride, and there was no inhibition in it.  
  
“What the hell are you doing?” August wheezed angrily.  
“Are you trying to mess with me? You think you’re gonna lower my defenses because you make cute submissive sex faces?”  
“You think my sex faces are cute…?” Vasquez's lips curled into a lecherous smile.  
“This, what is this, I don’t understand this!” August stammered furiously, thrusting harder.  
“August, I’m enjoying what you’re doing to me… is that so hard to understand?” Hugo hummed in a seductive, deep tone.  
“Yes, it is! Nobody makes faces like that. Neither Sasha nor anybody I ever made love to made faces like this. You gotta... stare the other down!” August protested.  
Hugo blinked in astonishment, and an amused grin spread on his face.  
“Stare the other down? Ah, is that so? Can't handle raw emotion, can you?”  
“What? No! I can handle emotion! I am super emotional!” The increasingly aggressive tone of his voice seemed like enough proof, but it also proved that he knew that there was some truth to it.  
“This unnerves you... you'd rather see me struggle than enjoy what you're doing. Wow, this is dangerous territory, August, really, you might want to have that looked at.”  
“What are you implying?” He growled, grabbing his throat, thrusting harder.  
“ You don't like to see my unfiltered joy because that means that I'm the one in charge...” Hugo smirked.  
“How can you be in charge when I have my cock inside you? I'm fucking _you_ , Vasquez!”  
Hugo snorted and broke into choked laughter, hacked up and thin, because August still had his hand around his throat.  
“This isn't funny!”, August barked.  
As Hugo laughed and laughed and laughed, just too amused to control it, August lost his nerves, and confusedly let go off him.  
“This is not funny! Stop... stop laughing! I'll... I'll stop if you don't stop!”  
“Hahaha! Oh, you're threatening me with sex withdrawal? That's so mature of you... Wow, way to man up and really show me. Like a good passive-aggressive wife.”  
“If you enjoy it so much, then why should I continue?”  
Hugo shook his head and could hardly believe what he was hearing. August didn't even seem to notice how problematic his statements really had become, and still in the believe that he was the one being right about everything they fought over.  
“Be glad that I'm into this whole _Pandoran beast_ thing, you're being all sorts of... weird right now..." Hugo remarked.  
"But I like that. I like that you're getting so worked up about this. Weird is sexy. _You_ are sexy.” He licked his lips and lowered his eyelids.  
“No! I... Ugh!” August groaned in frustration.  
“Come on, show me how angry you are. Fuck those cute sex faces out of me. Think you can make me scream?”, Vasquez provoked him, wiggling his eyebrows.  
“Heh, be careful what you wish for, asshole.”, August smirked.  
  
He rammed his swollen cock as deep into Vasquez as he could, feeling the rings of muscles contract in twitches of shock and joy. But he didn't let the grasp on his erection stop his motions. With everything he got, and a total disregard of hurting Hugo, he thrusted into him over and over again, with a hard, ruthless rhythm. He could almost feel himself building up to an orgasm, but as soon as he tried to grasp for the feeling, it slipped out of his hands. He groaned with so much frustration it came close to a whine. But since Vasquez was now figuratively screaming his lungs out, nobody could have possibly heard.  
“Fuck! Ah! Give it to me, you beast!”, Vasquez screamed with a broad grin on his face.  
“Yes! Ahh! Fuck me good! Ah, oh fuck, August-!” Suddenly clasping the sheets and clenching up around August's cock, Hugo ejaculated in several spurts going all over his own and August's stomachs. August gave a few more labored thrusts, wheezing and baring his teeth, but despite the sensation of almost exploding with the accumulation of arousal, he wasn't anywhere close to finishing up. He wouldn't ever finish up. Even if Hugo would give him a blowjob now, he would not finish. Hit by the terrifying realization, August decided to retreat and pretend he had just climaxed as well. He faked calm, satisfied breathing. Hugo collapsed onto the bed and sluggishly turned onto his back. He couldn't keep his eyes open.  
  
“How's that for getting fucked by a Pandoran beast?”, August asked smugly and out of breath.  
“Perfect!” Hugo sighed, all slack, gorgeously satisfied and completely unable to move.  
“You want a hand- or blowjob, babe? Something else? You get free choice for this...” Hugo asked, assuming August didn't want to continue that position anymore.  
“Uh, I'm... _done_. So... neither. I'll go... clean myself up a little.”, August murmured.  
“Yeah, uh, do I need to move too? I'm feeling alright with this.”, Hugo sighed.  
“No, not for me, no, it's fine. I'll be right back.”  
August left for a few minutes to both, clean himself up, and splash his face with cold water. And splash his crotch with cold water. It was a throbbing, painful experience. And even after he had a quick wank to finally let of some steam, his penis was still sore and felt like it was majorly bruised. This would recover. This wasn't the first time this happened.  
When he returned, Vasquez was still lying in the same lazy position, sprawled across the bed, and not covered up, except by his briefs that he never took off. Upon getting approached, he opened one eye and offered an arm for August to cuddle into.  
  
“So, why did you decide to not climax? Is this something about Sasha or your pride or that you cling to the idea what you're 100% straight... what is it about. Or do you just need more? More is okay, don't hesitate to ask for it.”, Hugo said.  
August gave a long sigh, lied down, placed his head on Hugo's upper arm, and stared at the ceiling.  
“It... just takes time. I'm not made for one-night-stands, like you people, you know. This takes trust. I don't have that amount of trust in you yet.” He whispered, almost hoping that he wouldn't hear it himself.  
“I understand..." Hugo said in a deep honeyed voice, and seemed to genuinely mean it.  
"I would be honored if you would, one day. If we ever get the time to deepen our friendship, you know, if we... have a future. But there is no need to rush it. There is probably also no _way_ to rush it.”  
“No making fun of me that I have _problems getting it off_?”, August crossed his arms.  
“No, why would I make fun of you?" Hugo chuckled.   
"If you need trust for it, you need trust for it. Everyone is different. I didn't have the luxury to base my sexual activity on trust, I'd be a freaking virgin if I'd be like you, and oh boy, what would I be without a good fucking every other day. I couldn't have coped with _anything_ like that.”  
“It's not a choice, asshole.”, August grumbled.  
“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”  
“It's, uh... it was still pretty good you know. I'm not disappointed if you're not disappointed.”  
A broad smile spread on Vasquez's lips.  
“I am not disappointed at all, not disappointed at all.”  
He whispered into his ear.  
“I came so hard for you, August... you're good at this...”  
August scrunched up his nose and gave a disgusted shiver, but decided to let that porn talk slide. It was somehow charming, in a very uncomfortable, awkward way. They lied next to each other in quietness, listening to the night sounds for a while, staring at the ceiling. Until Hugo started to talk again.  
  
“You know what would be hot?”, he said.  
“What?”, August said.  
“If we both had our way with Rhys...”  
“What?”, August sat up.  
“Yeah, just imagine it. You, me and Rhys. We could show him a real good time. With ropes, ball gags and double penetration.”, Hugo licked his lips. He grabbed August's upper thigh and massaged it with daydreams flickering in his eyes.  
“I don't think this is up for debate.” August sneered. “But...", he reconsidered. "Huh... if we did that... he could tell Sasha just what she's missing out on.”  
“Yeah, uh... sure... right...”, Hugo mumbled.  
“Maybe you should just... stop thinking about Sasha for a while.”, he recommended, patting his thigh.  
“But-” August protested.  
“No, uh, you, uh... deserve... better than this.” Hugo lied. “How about we focus on surviving, getting our lives together again... and, uh... you know... we can be accomplices with benefits to make it a little more pleasurable.”  
“You're... still not gonna get my ass, Vasquez...”, August frowned.  
“Yeah, whatever you're into, August. I'm _honestly_ fine with that.”  
“...Okay. Good! Then I'm in!”, August claimed aggressively.  
“Good?”  
“Good.”, he growled.  
Hugo's last response was nothing but a soft chuckle and another kiss on August's cheek.  
  
When their heat had died down, all that was left was the coolish night air around them, swooping in through the open window. August had his arms flung around Vasquez, holding him like a big furry teddy bear. Hugo was pressing his face against August's throat and breathing so calmly he might have been asleep. This situation was only weird when August really thought about it. He was the big spoon, he had him under control, this was okay  
But he realized that he wasn't any better than Vasquez in regard to despair. Besides being into women and settling for a man right now, he usually wanted Hyperion's employees to stay as far away from him as possible. It was alarming that he would agree to do _this_ with one of them. Possibly the worst of them. An arrogant, wasteful, holier-than-though bitch who didn't even know how to defend himself. August felt slightly ashamed of his own horribly low standards. Talk about a bad rebound. But these bulky, hairy arms around his waist that held him ridiculously close didn't seem very distant or arrogant. They seemed desperate, warm, clinging, dependent, and most of all, just very human. More than Sasha. The feeling wasn't all that bad. Vasquez wasn't all that bad. And despite all their sweating, he still retained his overly perfumed smell. But now, it lingered atop of his own scent.


End file.
